Match Notes

MACOMB, Ill.  - Fresh off its first win of the season, the Western Illinois volleyball team will head to Troy, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 4, to compete in the Troy University Spiketacular.

The Fighting Leathernecks (1-2) are slated to open with host Troy (1-3) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday before taking on Evansville (2-1) at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and finishing with McNeese State (0-3) at 2 p.m.

Western enters the tournament looking to build on the team's 3-2 win over USC-Upstate at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational Saturday evening. The Leathernecks finished in a tie for third place with USC-Upstate and sophomore Katie Hosteng was named to the all-tournament squad after recording 38 kills with a .390 attack percentage over the weekend.

"Our ability to persevere through the tournament and win the final match is a testament to our physical and mental toughness," said Western Illinois head coach Kym McKay. "We gained confidence with the (USC-Upstate) win, but also gained insight on the areas that we can improve upon. I'm excited to have a group of players who enjoyed the win, but are not satisfied."

In her first action as a Leatherneck, freshman setter Heather Smith showed poise at the net and quarterbacked the Western attack to 122 kills over the final two matches. A native of LaSalle, Ill., Smith had 34 assists against SEMO and 64 in the win over USC-Upstate. Senior Ellen Miller, who was moved from setter to libero, led the Leathernecks with 48 digs over the weekend and recorded a double-double (36 assists, 13 digs) Friday night against Bradley.

"It was great to see the team show resiliency with each different lineup," said McKay. "It reflects their focus and desire to compete. This week's practices have addressed all of the issues that we ran into during last weekend's tournament. I am eager to evaluate our performance and observe the improvements."

Junior Krissy Bergquist paced the Leathernecks with 43 kills over the weekend, including 11 in the first set Friday night and a career-high 20 in the win over USC-Upstate. Western's middle blockers were strong at the net over the weekend as Hosteng and Cait Egan combined for 5.92 kills per set, 1.83 total blocks per set and a .344 attack percentage.

Coverage

Live Stats for all tournament matches will be provided by Troy, please click here (free)

Troy will have a subscription video stream for Western's match on Saturday (12:30 p.m.) and first match on Sunday (11:30 a.m.) available on All-Access via TroyTrojans.com. There are multiple packages available for viewing the matches, beginning with a $5.95 package for a 24-hour pass and a $9.95 recurring monthly charge package.

Scouting Troy

Trojans opened their season with losses to host Auburn and Georgia Southern before posting a 3-0 win over UT Martin at the War Eagle Invitational last weekend. On Wednesday, Troy dropped a 3-1 decision to Samford on the road to fall to 1-3 on the season. Troy went 12-18 overall last season and finished just outside the Sun Belt Tournament with a 7-10 record in conference play. They return four starters, lose eight letterwinners and were picked to finish 8^th in the Sun Belt preseason poll.

Sophomore middle hitter Devin Von Pingel leads Troy with 2.90 kills per set, five total blocks and a .368 attack percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Giles averages 2.38 kills per set and all Trojan hitters receive sets from senior Megan Henderson, who averages 8.00 assists per set. Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Scouting Evansville

The Purple Aces opened their season with 3-0 wins over IUPUI and Bowling Green before falling to Michigan State in the MSU Spartan Showcase last weekend. Evansville returns five starters from last season's squad that finished seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference. They were ranked 8th in the preseason polls of the competitive MVC and lost their top attacker Ginta Gabruseva to graduation.

Evansville is led by junior outside hitter Brooke Maher, who averages 2.67 kills per set and is second on the team with an average of 3.00 digs per set. Senior outside hitter Emily Wandersee leads the Purple Aces in kills with 3.44 per set. Wandersee, a 2009 All-MVC Second Team selection, will take her sets from junior setter Ellen Sawin, who averages 9.33 assists per set. The Purple Aces have held an advantage over their opponents in hitting with a .220 attack percentage compared to their opponents' .172.

The series between the two schools, which dates back to 1982, is tied 4-4 with the last meeting coming on Aug. 30, 2003 at the Eastern Illinois Invitational. In that matchup, Western rallied to force a fifth set but Evansville captured the final set, 15-6, for the 3-2 victory.

Scouting McNeese State

The Cowgirls suffered losses to Houston, Texas and TCU at the University of Texas Burnt Orange Classic over the weekend. McNeese State went 17-13 last season, but a 5-11 record in Southland Conference play prevented the Cowgirls from reaching postseason action. First-year head coach Terry Gamble spent most of his coaching career in the junior college ranks where he won three National Championships and was elected to the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2007. They return four starters, 10 letterwinners and were picked to finish 3^rd in the East Division of the Southland Conference.

The Cowgirls are led by sophomore outside hitter Priscill Massengale, who averages a team-high 2.70 kills per set. Named the 2009 Louisiana "Freshman of the Year", Massengale also ranks second on the team with 3.30 digs per set. Freshman outside hitter Regina Trapp is second on the team with 2.00 kills per set and sophomore Taylor Bustamento has posted a .395 attack percentage. Sophomore setter Becky Bekelja averages 7.90 assists per match and sophomore libero Whitney Ellisor averages a team-high 3.60 digs per match.

Sunday's match will be the first meeting between the two programs.